Marco Rubio: Israel must feel secure

Sen. Marco Rubio stressed the importance of Israel’s security and said the United States shouldn’t dictate the Jewish state’s settlements policies during a Jerusalem press conference.

“The greatest advancements in this process have always been made when Israel felt secure,” Rubio said of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians on Thursday, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. “There is a direct relationship between Israel’s security and the ability to make concessions and move forward. The more secure Israel is, the likelier it is going to be that this issue is going to be solved.”

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Rubio (R-Fla.), in the spotlight this month as his party’s pick to deliver a GOP response to the State of the Union, spent the week in the Middle East. The possible 2016 presidential contender’s trip comes several weeks before President Barack Obama will make his first trip to Israel as president.

Though Israel will bestow Obama with a prestigious honor later this month, Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have clashed in the past, especially over the question of settlements. Rubio, for his part, said the United States should keep out of the thorny issue.

“He added that it was not for the US to ‘go in and dictate what the resolution of that issue [the settlements] should be,’” the Jerusalem Post report said.

Regarding Obama’s visit, however, Rubio said that it will signal that there “is clear bipartisan support for a number of principles in foreign policy” when it comes to Israel and the Middle East, beyond “our many differences on many issues in the US,” the article said.

Rubio, who has said he will oppose Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel — citing, in part, some of Hagel’s past positions on the Middle East — also said that Hagel did not come up in discussions with Israeli officials this week. He declined to talk about the issue during the press conference, the report said.